My little experiment with Fritillaria imperialis is going nicely.
I checked one of the bulbs in storage for the summer yesterday, and I was
surprised to find that it had produced masses of two to three inch
unbranched roots. I shouldn’t have been surprised because I’ve read that
this species begins to produce new roots in August. I last checked this bulb
perhaps two weeks ago at the most, so this root growth is something new.
The bulb has spent the summer wrapped in newspaper.
What next? Three options present themselves immediately: leave the bulb in
its newspaper wrapping until the soil temperatures cool down (i.e. probably
sometime in October), plant it now out into the garden (the least attractive
option in my view), or store the newspaper wrapped bulb in the refrigerator
until planting time.
I’m not sure what to do here: any suggestions?
The related Fritillaria raddeana (now going into its fourth year here) shows
no sign of root growth, nor do Fritillaria persica and its cultivar ‘Ivory
Bells’).
Jim McKenney
jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com
Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, 39.03871º North, 77.09829º West, USDA zone
7, where potted Gladiolus callianthus are blooming now.
My Virtual Maryland Garden http://www.jimmckenney.com/
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